Harper notes threats around the world

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, right, jokes around with journalists while holding a piece of ice with his wife Laureen aboard the HMCS Kingston on Eclipse Sound, near the arctic community of Pond Inlet, Nunavut on August 24, 2014. (REUTERS/Chris Wattie)

Jessica Hume, National Bureau

OTTAWA — Keeping a wary eye on the situation in Ukraine, Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Tuesday said Canada "must not be complacent here at home" with Russia as an Arctic neighbour.

Accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of making sure there "be no peace" in the region, Harper explained Canada's role in Eastern Europe as one of "reassurance."

Canada has provided military aid a small commitment of 30 military personnel to the Ukrainian effort.

"Our position is clear: we support the Ukrainian people in their struggle to hold on to their country, leave behind so many tragic decades, to build a prosperous, free and democratic society," he reiterated Tuesday.

Harper also addressed the extremist group the Islamic State -- also known as ISIS or ISIL -- which claims to have established an Islamic state in parts of Syria and Iraq.

ISIS, Harper said, was on a "murderous rampage" he said constituted a major threat to global security.

"(ISIS) is not only a threat to the millions in the region but has the clear potential, if left unchecked, to become a new safe haven for global terrorists, a threat to all of us," he said.

He extolled the Canadian Forces, praising their deployment as providing "humanitarian and military supplies to Kurdish forces holding back the terrorist advance."